The idea of a one-wheeled mobility device or skateboard has been there for a long time, even before the invention of Segway and the open-source one-wheeled board by Ben Smither.
Future Motion Inc did indeed invent the board called Onewheel but they didn’t invent the one-wheeled board or the automatically balancing vehicle.
One-wheeled patents
Was Ben or Kyle the first to make a board with a Go-Kart wheel? Maybe, the patents show one-wheels but no one has thought of using that specific wheel for the board. Read more about the history of the one-wheeled board in History of Onewheel.
There is a lot of gyroscopic control and the use of gyroscopic sensors in numerous patents from balancing boards, and EUC concepts to cars and bikes.
I’m happy that Future Motion Inc. took the concept of a one-wheeled skateboard and took the invention to the market, making it an innovation. An invention is nothing, as it stays in the books, it’s first when a company decides to make an impact on the world it becomes an innovation.
Let’s look into the patents and break them down
| Year | Title | Patent # | Company |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Personal mobility vehicles and methods | US-6302230 | Deka Products LP |
| 2005 | Vehicle, vehicle control device, and vehicle control method | US-7424927 | Yamaha Motor Co Ltd |
| 2013 | Self-stabilizing skateboard | WO2014182527A1 | Future Motion Inc |
| 2013 | Pitch-propelled vehicle | US9211470B2 | Equalia LLC |
1999 US-6302230-B1 Personal mobility vehicles and methods
Deka Products LP
ABSTRACT
An automatic balancing vehicle has a headroom monitor. The headroom monitor determines the difference between the maximum velocity of the vehicle and the present velocity of the vehicle. An alarm receives a signal from the headroom monitor and produces a warning when the headroom falls below a specified limit.
2005 Vehicle, vehicle control device, and vehicle control method US-7424927
Yamaha Motor Co Ltd
ABSTRACT
A motorized balance board includes a gyrosensor. An arithmetic operation unit calculates a tilt angle change value based on a signal output from the gyrosensor. When the control mode is a standby mode, a control mode Switch element switches the control mode to a riding mode when the absolute value of the tilt angle change value exceeds a riding angular velocity threshold. When the control mode is the riding mode, the control mode switch element switches the control mode to
the standby mode when the absolute value of the tilt angle change value exceeds a descending angular velocity threshold.
2013 Self-stabilizing skateboard US9400505B2
Future Motion Inc
ABSTRACT
An electric vehicle may comprise a board including first and second deck portions each configured to receive a left or right foot of a ride, a wheel assembly disposed between the deck portions and including a ground-contacting element, a motor assembly mounted to the board and configured to rotate the ground- contacting element around an axle to propel the electric vehicle, at least one sensor configured to measure orientation information of the board, and a motor controller configured to receive orientation information measured by the sensor and to cause the motor assembly to propel the electric vehicle based on the orientation information. The electric vehicle may include exactly one ground-contacting element, and the motor may be a hub motor.
2013 Pitch-propelled vehicle USD-795374S1
Equalia LLC
ABSTRACT
A method, system and apparatus for carrying a user including a board for supporting the user, a ground-contacting member coupled with the board, a motorized drive assembly coupled with the ground-contacting member and one or more sensors coupled with the drive assembly. In operation, the drive assembly adjusts the velocity of the ground-contacting member based on one or more distances of the board from a surface below the board as detected by the sensors. As a result, the system is able to maintain a desired velocity when ascending, descending or traversing uneven ground without the need for excessive and sometimes impossible tilting of the board.
When Does Onewheel Patent Expire
Future Motion owns the U.S. Pat. No. 9,452,345 patent issued September 27, 2016 and will expire November 5, 2035
“An electric vehicle may comprise a board including deck portions each configured to receive a foot of a rider, and a wheel assembly disposed between the deck portions. A motor assembly may be mounted to the board and configured to propel the electric vehicle using the wheel assembly. At least one orientation sensor may be configured to measure orientation information of the board, and at least one pressure-sensing transducer may be configured to determine rider presence information. A motor controller may be configured to receive the orientation information and the rider presence information, and to cause the motor assembly to propel the electric vehicle based on the orientation and presence information”
https://portal.unifiedpatents.com/patents/patent/US-9452345-B2
This is the patent FM uses to exclude others from making, using, offering for sale, and selling the one-wheeled boards within the United States and also from importing them into the United States. This is only one of the long list of patents filed and granted to Future Motion Inc.
Conclusion
It’s hard with patents and the question is always what’s new, and what did get included in the claims. That’s why you have patent attorneys to look into what you are filing or planning to develop. The last thing you want is to release something and get a patent infringement claim.
This can be costly and most likely will result in some royalty or cash settlement.
The DEKA patent shows a device looking like the one released by Future Motion Inc., Yhama Motors describes the way the Onehwheel most likely operates, the main question is then what’s protected by the patent and what are the claims. ( A motorized balance board includes a gyrosensor.)
Disclaimer: I’m not a patent attorney or anyway an expert in patent law.
